I wouldn't divide the number into Latinos and other. I would like to see those statistics by how long the workers have lived here (irrespective of where they came from) and their proficiency in English and their level of education. I worked in district in New Jersey with construction and cleaning people who where primary poorly educated and Polish. The trainings done were in English, the labels and MSDSs were in English, the bosses only spoke English. The propensity to misunderstand safety rules and being basically untrained for the job is huge.

I am on a committee dealing with the hazards faced by NYC nail and beauty salon workers which are primarily Viet Namese and other Asians. We are getting materials translated in several languages for them.

The OSHA regulations clearly require that the trainings be held in the language spoken by the workers, and that the MSDSs and labels be in that language. I have never seen that actually happen.

If the language barrier regulations are complied with, the most expensive workers that employers can hire are the ones they can pay the lowest salaries to.

As the chairperson of the U.S. federal agency that investigates chemical disasters, I am concerned for all workers. But as an immigrant from Colombia, where I first studied chemical engineering, I have a heightened concern for Latinos who work in and around chemical facilities across Texas and in the U.S. Their fatality and injury rates are disproportionately high.

In 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 4,405 workers were killed on the job in the United States. This represents an overall fatality rate of 3.2 workers killed for every 100,000 in the workplace; thankfully the rate has been dropping. But for Latinos, the fatality rate has actually increased to 3.8 per 100,000 workers. In human terms, it represents 797 Latino workers gone from their wives, husbands, children, and communities. That is two Latino lives lost at work every day in 2013.

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